Case-Based Learning for In-Service Nursing Students

October 1, 2026 updated by: Chang Gung University of Science and Technology

A Cluster-Randomized Study of Case-Based Learning on Perceived Problem-Solving Ability, Emotional Intelligence, and Learning Motivation Among In-Service Nursing Students

This quasi-experimental study explored the influence of integrating CBL into a psychiatric nursing course on these three outcomes among in-service nursing students. 106 students from two classes were purposively selected via convenience sampling and cluster-randomized into an intervention group (n = 54) and a control group (n = 52). From September 2024 to January 2025, participants in an Emotional Flooding and Mental Health course at a university of technology in northern Taiwan received either a nine-week CBL intervention covering adolescent, adult, and older-adult psychiatric cases, or didactic instruction. Outcomes were measured pre- and post-intervention using the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI), the Adult Emotional Intelligence Scale (AEIS), and the Adults' Learning Motivation Scale (ALMS).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
106

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taoyuan, Taiwan, 333324
        • Chang Gung University of Science and Technology

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Enrolled in the "Emotional Flooding and Mental Health" course at a university of technology in northern Taiwan during the 2024-2025 academic year
  • In-service nursing student in a two-year (post-RN) program
  • Willing to provide informed consent and complete both pretest and posttest questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None specified beyond the inclusion criteria above (all enrolled and eligible students in the two selected classes were invited to participate)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Case-Based Learning (CBL) Group

Participants received a nine-week case-based learning (CBL) intervention integrated into the Emotional Flooding and Mental Health course, delivered across three non-contiguous three-week blocks (Weeks 3-5, 9-11, and 16-18) covering adolescent, adult, and older-adult psychiatric cases, respectively. Each case followed a three-stage format (small-group discussion preparation, intensive small-group discussion, and conclusion), with graded small-group discussion components.
Behavioral: Case-Based Learning (CBL)

A nine-week case-based learning intervention using progressively unfolding psychiatric nursing cases (adolescent, adult, and older-adult), incorporating small-group discussion, peer learning, oral presentation, and reflective assessment components.
Active Comparator: Control (Traditional Instruction) Group

Participants received traditional didactic (lecture-based) instruction on the same nine topics within the Emotional Flooding and Mental Health course, delivered across the same three-week blocks (Weeks 3-5, 9-11, and 16-18), without case-based small-group discussion components.
Behavioral: Traditional Didactic Instruction

Traditional lecture-based instruction covering the same psychiatric nursing topics as the CBL condition, without case-based small-group discussion components.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Perceived Problem-Solving Ability (Problem Solving Inventory, PSI)
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1, prior to instruction) and Week 18 (immediately following completion of the final instructional block)

Perceived problem-solving ability measured using the 32-item Problem Solving Inventory (Heppner & Petersen, 1982; Chinese version validated by Jiang et al., 2016), comprising three subscales: confidence in problem-solving, approach-avoidance style, and personal control. Items are rated on a six-point scale; lower total scores indicate stronger perceived problem-solving ability.
Baseline (Week 1, prior to instruction) and Week 18 (immediately following completion of the final instructional block)
Change in Learning Motivation (Adults' Learning Motivation Scale, ALMS)
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1, prior to instruction) and Week 18 (immediately following completion of the final instructional block)

Learning motivation measured using the 15-item Adults' Learning Motivation Scale (Chen & Chiu, 2009), comprising three subscales: pursuit of interests, career advancement, and external expectations. Items are rated on a five-point Likert scale; higher scores indicate greater learning motivation.
Baseline (Week 1, prior to instruction) and Week 18 (immediately following completion of the final instructional block)
Change in Emotional Intelligence (Adult Emotional Intelligence Scale, AEIS)
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1, prior to instruction) and Week 18 (immediately following completion of the final instructional block)

Emotional intelligence measured using the 26-item Adult Emotional Intelligence Scale (Hung, 2019), comprising four subscales: emotional awareness, emotional expression, emotional regulation, and emotion utilization. Items are rated on a four-point Likert scale; higher scores indicate greater emotional intelligence.
Baseline (Week 1, prior to instruction) and Week 18 (immediately following completion of the final instructional block)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Chang Gung University of Science and Technology

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 13, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 10, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 10, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 1, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • ChangGungUST

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared, as this was not included in the original informed consent provided by participants, and data sharing was not specified in the study protocol.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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